Fort Worth-based Burlington Northern Santa Fe will test the use of natural gas as a substitute for more costly diesel in its locomotives, according to media reports. "This could be a transformative event for our railroad," CEO Matt Rose told The Wall Street Journal in a Wednesday report. The big railroad would use liquefied natural gas, rather than compressed natural gas used in buses and light vehicles, because it offers considerably more range. Over-the-road trucking is moving into LNG for the same reason.
-- Jim Fuquay
Why would BNSF waste time & money trying to convert piston driven diesel/electrics to hybrid natural gas(90%)/diesel(10%) rather than 100% natural gas powered gas turbines driving the same electric generators that are currently in modern locomotives???
Other than they still need that <60,000lbm (pound mass) of an engine for
traction ballast?? Maintenance costs are lower, operating costs are lower for a gas turbine vs a stationary diesel.
Posted by: chris | March 07, 2013 at 12:34 AM